Nonfiction

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

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  • Create Date：2021-04-30 10:56:14
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Robert M. Sapolsky
  • ISBN：0805073698
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Summary

Now in a third edition， Robert M。 Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction， as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress。

As Sapolsky explains， most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria。 Instead， the diseases we fear--and the ones that plague us now--are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage， such as heart disease and cancer。 When we worry or experience stress， our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does， but we do not resolve conflict in the same way--through fighting or fleeing。 Over time， this activation of a stress response makes us sick。

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Reviews

Abhijeet ，

everyone should read this book。。

Nathan Hoyt ，

I was assuming this would be a bit more of an extension to "Believe"， but instead found it to be a bit more focused on endocrinology of stress。 Very good， but just not what I expected。 But I do love Dr。 Sapolsky's writing style - very technically competent （even insightful）， but still a fun read。 I certainly will go look for more books from Sapolsky。 I was assuming this would be a bit more of an extension to "Believe"， but instead found it to be a bit more focused on endocrinology of stress。 Very good， but just not what I expected。 But I do love Dr。 Sapolsky's writing style - very technically competent （even insightful）， but still a fun read。 I certainly will go look for more books from Sapolsky。 。。。more

Shaz Tariq ，

Really informative book about stress and what it does to our body。 Really well written with plenty of detail for a science lover like me。

John Stevenson ，

great book！ I thought it would be all anecdotal， and an easy read。 But it is heavy science and biology and multisyllabic words。 But there is a tremendous amount of solid practical information in it。

Corina Pfouai ，

Definiția stresului e diferită pentru fiecare individ aparte， însă efectele acestuia asupra modului nostru funcțional ，sunt similare cu marea parte a ființelor de pe acest pământ。Emoția înaintea unui interviu， prima săritură în apă， frica de a întârzia sau de a ajunge prea devreme， dorința de a fi recunoscut， neliniștea unei dureri aleatorii la piciorul stâng （ în plină noapte🥴） —toate astea sunt mici imbolduri stresante pentru creierul nostru。 De aici， pornesc atâtea mecanisme încât nu știu cum Definiția stresului e diferită pentru fiecare individ aparte， însă efectele acestuia asupra modului nostru funcțional ，sunt similare cu marea parte a ființelor de pe acest pământ。Emoția înaintea unui interviu， prima săritură în apă， frica de a întârzia sau de a ajunge prea devreme， dorința de a fi recunoscut， neliniștea unei dureri aleatorii la piciorul stâng （ în plină noapte🥴） —toate astea sunt mici imbolduri stresante pentru creierul nostru。 De aici， pornesc atâtea mecanisme încât nu știu cum autorul a avut timp și răbdare （ se pare că la mine ăsta e un factor stresant😅） să le ia pe fiecare în parte și să le explice în așa fel încât să vrei să adopți mici schimbări în rutina de zi cu zi。Partea rea e că mai totul într-o societate capitalistă se bazează pe stres （ clasele sociale， afirmarea， calitatea sistemului medical， grija zilei de mâine， etc）。Partea bună e că ÎNCĂ mai avem mecanismele necesare pentru a-i face față （ autorul propune câteva soluții simple spre final: sport， meditare， timp calitativ petrecut cu cei dragi， alimentație corectă， dezvoltarea unei pasiuni， etc）。Dar。 Partea bună o să îți ajute doar dacă nu trăiești la limita pragului de sărăcie。 Și dacă cumva acum stai să te întrebi ce are sărăcia cu zen’ul， ia-ți din timp și aruncă o privire în cartea asta。Nu o să regreți și posibiiiil， anumiți hormoni o să-ți mulțumească pentru asta。 Cheers！🤓 。。。more

Mustafa Al ，

Comprehensive book on the ins & outs of stress & how it affects every aspects of our body & life。 It is a scientific book to a certain degree 。 However it is written in a simple language that the public can understand & comprehend。It is build on decades of research & experiments on the effect of stress。 It is somehow frightening to see extent that chronic stress can damage ones mental & physical health。I would argue that the book could have been written shorter with yet a simpler language。 You m Comprehensive book on the ins & outs of stress & how it affects every aspects of our body & life。 It is a scientific book to a certain degree 。 However it is written in a simple language that the public can understand & comprehend。It is build on decades of research & experiments on the effect of stress。 It is somehow frightening to see extent that chronic stress can damage ones mental & physical health。I would argue that the book could have been written shorter with yet a simpler language。 You may get lost with the many scientific terms that have been used thorough out。 。。。more

Emmi ，

The name and cover of this book are a bit misleading （and I'm still not sure why zebras DON'T get ulcers）， but it was a good book about the physiological effects of stress， what stress is and how it can ruin you and your child's lives。 No biggie。 The name and cover of this book are a bit misleading （and I'm still not sure why zebras DON'T get ulcers）， but it was a good book about the physiological effects of stress， what stress is and how it can ruin you and your child's lives。 No biggie。 。。。more

Lena ，

This book details all the myriad ways we as humans are killing ourselves with stress。 It was honestly a bit of a slog。 It was EXTREMELY dense and full of medical jargon。 Also， for the first 12 or 13 （very long） chapters， the author creates more and more hopelessness in the reader because of the inevitability of our bodies breaking down as a result of stress。 It's only in the last couple of chapters that he actually offers any hope or solutions。 It was an interesting concept and the author was ac This book details all the myriad ways we as humans are killing ourselves with stress。 It was honestly a bit of a slog。 It was EXTREMELY dense and full of medical jargon。 Also， for the first 12 or 13 （very long） chapters， the author creates more and more hopelessness in the reader because of the inevitability of our bodies breaking down as a result of stress。 It's only in the last couple of chapters that he actually offers any hope or solutions。 It was an interesting concept and the author was actually quite funny and I laughed out loud many times。 But I would have been satisfied reading the Cliff's Notes version of this。 。。。more

Mrmayor ，

Wonderfully-written， deals impressively well with science， remarkable cultural sensitivity for a 20-year-old book。 For those with some existing knowledge of stress physiology， the first half drags a bit， but the back half is excellent for everyone。 Informative and enjoyable！

Tiffany ，

3 1/2 stars。 This 1994 book （with some more recent updates） by a Stanford biologist is filled with interesting science about how health is negatively affected by stress and the anxieties of our modern world。 The book is long and there was nothing I hadn't heard before， but this was a comprehensive presentation of the research and potential solutions。 3 1/2 stars。 This 1994 book （with some more recent updates） by a Stanford biologist is filled with interesting science about how health is negatively affected by stress and the anxieties of our modern world。 The book is long and there was nothing I hadn't heard before， but this was a comprehensive presentation of the research and potential solutions。 。。。more

Nazri Awang ，

TLDR Zebras don't get stressed as we do。It had never came across my mind that stress can have such major repercussions on our physical and mental health， but they do。 And throughout this book， the writer （he's a biology professor） wrote in great details about experiments that he had done。 He only allocated the final chapter to talk about what we can do to reduce/handle stress better。 Overall I enjoy his writing， very funny dude。Bottom line， take a chill pill， relax， breath， it's not the end of t TLDR Zebras don't get stressed as we do。It had never came across my mind that stress can have such major repercussions on our physical and mental health， but they do。 And throughout this book， the writer （he's a biology professor） wrote in great details about experiments that he had done。 He only allocated the final chapter to talk about what we can do to reduce/handle stress better。 Overall I enjoy his writing， very funny dude。Bottom line， take a chill pill， relax， breath， it's not the end of the world。 Stress is unproductive and bad for us。 “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change， courage to change the things I can， and wisdom to know the difference。 — have the wisdom to pick your battles。 And once you have， the flexibility and resiliency of strategies to use in those battles are summarized in something I once heard: in the face of strong winds， let me be a blade of grass; in the face of strong walls， let me be a gale of wind。" 。。。more

Renetta Neal ，

Science fascinates me but rarely have I found a book so full of long words and yet so easy （ish） to comprehend。 I already had some knowledge of the effects stress has on us but feel I have managed to gather another layer of knowledge （not knowledge）。 Nothing is set in stone and I like the honesty and sharing of his thinking that Robert Sapolsky includes。 I enjoyed the humorous elements that made this a not too heavy read despite the somewhat heavy topic it explores！

maeve mcgeown ，

this will make u smarter in a way that actually matters - it goes over stress physiology and neuroimmunology in a way that's approachable for the average reader。 it'll make you think twice about how and why you stress over things and you'll definitely take away some important stuff， i'd recommend to literally any human this will make u smarter in a way that actually matters - it goes over stress physiology and neuroimmunology in a way that's approachable for the average reader。 it'll make you think twice about how and why you stress over things and you'll definitely take away some important stuff， i'd recommend to literally any human 。。。more

Isabell ，

The book is about what stress does to our bodies （i。e。 stress responses and glucocorticoid levels， cardiovascular diseases are discussed at length for over two thirds of the book。） which constitutes the main element of this work。 Yet Sapolsky also hints at social and socio-economic implications of how income inequality increases the stress we experience and what one can do in order to alleviate those unpleasant feelings。 The latter is only touched upon very briefly， however。 He points out， for e The book is about what stress does to our bodies （i。e。 stress responses and glucocorticoid levels， cardiovascular diseases are discussed at length for over two thirds of the book。） which constitutes the main element of this work。 Yet Sapolsky also hints at social and socio-economic implications of how income inequality increases the stress we experience and what one can do in order to alleviate those unpleasant feelings。 The latter is only touched upon very briefly， however。 He points out， for example， that those individuals who tend to deny painful consequences that they are not able to change， often opt for the best coping mechanism。 I found this rather unexpected。 It has to be put in perspective， though， of course。 It is easy to understand， generally， and requires as simple an education as knowledge that is conveyed in grade eighth。 （Of course， there could be some variability across countries。） Here are some nuggets of knowledge I found interesting:The so-called AT20 rule:In criminology， it is 20% of the criminals who account for 80% of the crime。 These numbers are not to be literal。 It just means to say that causality is not equally distributed among a population of causal agents。 Or something else entirely: If patients were free to self-administer pain medication， they administered less than when they were supervised by staff who injected them with it。 This is because by taking the medication on their own， the patients could reinstate predictability and control themselves。 Sapolsky also relies on studies that were conducted with animals such as rats and non-human primates。 He exemplifies what goes on physiology-wise in terms of their stress responses by referring to how the body is affected if infants - animal and human - suffer trauma， and how effects like this stay with us for a life time。 He also tells the reader about how and for what reasons brain areas react in addicted test subjects and how their functionality changes in geriatric patients。 Specifically， that the hippocampus in older individuals degenerates over the courses of decades and that this is brought about and accelerated by the overactive secretion of glucocorticoids。 I learned what it means to have a repressive personality and that， according to the author， Lousiania is the most inequal of the US states in terms of income， whereas the opposite poses New Hampshire with the most equality。 - the term 'burking' was coined that traces back to William Burke （for reference: Resurrectionists in the 18th century --> graverobbers， body snatchers would sell corpses to anatomists。） The rating is only three stars because the book rarely excited me （although those hypotheses about the genesis of depression was particularly interesting！） and I genuinely had to work through it。 In short， it did not bring me joy per se but I am glad I did read it！ （Also: This is very partial but I found the voice actor that read the audiobook a bit annoying。 He also sounded -- sorry -- like a pervert if I had to reduce the reading speed。） 。。。more

Josh Wilks ，

Another banger from sapolsky！ Some redundancies from behave。 Many things carry over to chronic pain， there is definitely a significant crossover here。 The chapter on pain was a little slim。

Vea ，

Sapolsky is brilliant and his book was just as good and entertaining as his lecture。 This is super dense tho and definitely not for people that just want to learn a bit more about stress and coping strategies as the psychology and science in this book is heavy。 He is super good at explaining things though and makes the material relatively easy and fun to learn！！

Jessica Potter ，

This is a great book！ Written for the everyday person。 It has a great analogy and use of research to demonstrate and support theory。I am not a fan of science or biology， but this book was so good that I ordered another science nonfiction book from the same author。

Anyong ，

Dated， but still a fascinating read carrying Sapolsky's insights into human behavior from his time as a primatologist over into his work in Bio-Psychology。 Dated， but still a fascinating read carrying Sapolsky's insights into human behavior from his time as a primatologist over into his work in Bio-Psychology。 。。。more

Feruza Avezova ，

Robert Sapolsky's "Why zebras don't get ulcers" is surprisingly not about zebras。 To complicate matters further， it's not about ulcers either。 It's a brilliantly written piece on neurochemistry of stress， it's markers in our bloodstream and the subsequent impacts on our wellbeing。 First， Sapolsky presents sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems that are responsible for our stress responses。 The former is activated during the immediate stress and is responsible for the release of epinephr Robert Sapolsky's "Why zebras don't get ulcers" is surprisingly not about zebras。 To complicate matters further， it's not about ulcers either。 It's a brilliantly written piece on neurochemistry of stress， it's markers in our bloodstream and the subsequent impacts on our wellbeing。 First， Sapolsky presents sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems that are responsible for our stress responses。 The former is activated during the immediate stress and is responsible for the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine （you know them as adrenalin and noradrenalin）， while the latter is concerned with a post-stress recovery and is regulated through a production of steroids， namely glucocorticoids。 When you become comfortable with all these processes and terminology， Sapolsky starts presenting illnesses， one by one， that are proven to be exacerbated by chronic stress。 The mechanisms for the emergence of those illnesses are quite complex， but the author uses pretty accessible language to make the point。 And although you might feel doomed by the fact that nearly all major health complications arise from the constant exposure to artificial stressors （you did know that already， didn't you？）， the author claims that not everything is so "black and white"。 There are certain diseases that arise from a combination of bacteriological and psychological factors （like ulcers）， or a dreadful combination of genetics and stress （cancer， depression）。 Though stress only makes you more vulnerable to those illnesses; it doesn't cause them straightforwardly。 Although the topic of the book is pretty depressing by itself， Robert Sapolsky manages to stay upbeat， at times even optimistic。 He is one of those scientists who still believe that the rainbow is magic， although he knows that it is nothing more than a light dispersed in a prism into a different spectrum of colors。 My only wish is that the author hadn’t added the last chapter on combating stress。 It， of course， gives a book a note of optimism and adds some "help-yourself" kind of vibe。 But to my taste， this last chapter seems artificial and abrupt。 Robert himself admits that he does not have an anxious personality; he has a job that he likes and a "fabulous marriage" （quite lucky， isn't he？）。  So I allowed myself to make a hasty conclusion that the author is not one of those people who has to overcome stress on a regular basis。 Hence， those primitive， "out-of-nowhere" pieces of advice on tackling stressors go quite in contrast with structured scientific read that you get to enjoy throughout most parts of the book。 Overall， I do think that with the help of this book you will find an enormous joy understanding the workings of our body in its efforts to overcome stress。 #whyzebrasdontgetulcers 。。。more

Eric ，

Another example of a book that could have been easily summarized in a blog post。 Save the time and energy， read the last chapter and call it good。

Tarık Çayır ，

Stres ve stresle ilişkili hastalıklar konusunda biyolojik bir eser arıyorsanız bu kitap tam size göre。 Biyolojiyi sevmediğim ve beklentim farklı olduğu için okurken strese girdiğimi rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim。 Beğenmediğim için 100。 sayfada okumayı bıraktım。

Girish Joshi ，

I learned about Robert M。 Sapolsky through his course on Introduction to Human Behavioural Biology。 He's a cool biologist from Stanford University。 Truth be told， I could never get past the first lecture of the course， but that was because back then my priorities were distorted。 I had saved his book Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers in my to-read list。 Most of the primates that I know have this habit of forming infinitely long to-read and to-watch and to-travel bucket lists。 And then we ask ourselves I learned about Robert M。 Sapolsky through his course on Introduction to Human Behavioural Biology。 He's a cool biologist from Stanford University。 Truth be told， I could never get past the first lecture of the course， but that was because back then my priorities were distorted。 I had saved his book Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers in my to-read list。 Most of the primates that I know have this habit of forming infinitely long to-read and to-watch and to-travel bucket lists。 And then we ask ourselves in the middle of the night: dear， what is making me stressed？ It's your damn to-read list， JOHN SNOW！At the first glance， the title seemed provocative to me， it was a double-edged question that was hurting on two fronts。 Neither did I know Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers？ Nor did I know Why Anybody Get Ulcers Anyway？ Most of the primates that I know also have this peculiar habit of minding other people's business when they run out of things to mind of their own。 Therefore it was extremely necessary to find out the mystery behind the title of this book。 The only people I had known who don't get ulcers are the ones who are notorious for giving other people ulcers。 And Zebras （not judging a community by its color） do not particularly seem that kind to me。Okay， now let me break out the answer for you: stress。 Stress gives ulcers among the three dozen other things it gives to you， stress is indeed a hopeless giver， such a fine husband material。 No wonder many female primates find handling their husbands stressful。 The repeated theme of this book is just how many things can go wrong in the body because of stress and how important it is for everyone to recognize this。 Now coming to the mystery of Zebras。 For animals such as Zebras， stress is episodic （for example: running to save the life from a predator） but for social primates like us， stress is chronic （for example: worrying about the pecking order）。 Now that you know the mystery of the title， you must be wondering: should I read this 600 pages long manuscript？ And the answer is yes。 You must understand the biology of how stress gives you ulcers， gives you heart attacks， destroys your metabolism， hampers your growth， affects your sex life， suppress your immunity， helps you in forgetting your memories， and makes you age faster。 You must also understand how stress and depression go hand in hand， how personality types affect individuals， the role of substance abuse， and most importantly how can we actually manage this stress。 You might not be able to explain back to your primate friends the biology of stress， you might fumble while pronouncing glucocorticoids， you will definitely forget the other biology jargons， and they might look at you with suspicion: have you really read this book？ I know you are feeling stressed just thinking about it， I can hear the ulcers popping。 But don't worry， by the time you finish， Robert would have given you few tips on managing that stress。 Primates just don't know how to mind their own business。 Have a stress-free day！ 。。。more

Ross Beck-macneil ，

（Read as physical book）What's it about？It's mostly about the biological mechanisms of stress。 Answer to question in title is that zebras get stressed when being chases by a lion， and then either get away and stop being stressed or get caught and eaten。 Humans on the the other hand can get chronic stress by worrying about things， mostly about other people。 The book focuses on the many ways that stress can be bad for you， including compromising immune response and stunting growth。 The What did I t （Read as physical book）What's it about？It's mostly about the biological mechanisms of stress。 Answer to question in title is that zebras get stressed when being chases by a lion， and then either get away and stop being stressed or get caught and eaten。 Humans on the the other hand can get chronic stress by worrying about things， mostly about other people。 The book focuses on the many ways that stress can be bad for you， including compromising immune response and stunting growth。 The What did I think？I really enjoy Sapolsky's writing。 He does a good job of making the science interesting and engaging， and I enjoy his asides。 I liked how things are presented， with each chapter focusing on a different aspect of stress。 I got a bit bored with the focus on the biological mechanisms。 I preferred the parts on the psychological and social aspects of stress， but there were less of them。 I would have a hard time recommending the book， while I would definitely recommend Sapolsky's Behave book。 。。。more

Alpesh Maru ，

It is an intresting book about how stress can affect our body。 It provide detail information about stress in a very lucid and intresting way。

Kate ，

The most informative and scientific book about stress that you can find for non-scientific audience。

Bindu Upadhyay ，

I listened to this book instead of reading。 It is hard for me to say that I "read" this book as I don't have as much satisfaction about my grip on the content。 The book is very informative。 Lot of studies are mentioned。 The speaker is funny， so that kept me interested。 I also enjoyed the nuances and different perspectives that the author offered。 Good book if you want to understand how stress affects your body。 I listened to this book instead of reading。 It is hard for me to say that I "read" this book as I don't have as much satisfaction about my grip on the content。 The book is very informative。 Lot of studies are mentioned。 The speaker is funny， so that kept me interested。 I also enjoyed the nuances and different perspectives that the author offered。 Good book if you want to understand how stress affects your body。 。。。more

Abhishek Dalmia ，

I came to this book through Robert Sapolsky's lecture series on human behavior（A very fun and informative course available on YouTube Stanford Channel）。 As expected he has talked very much in detail about the physiological reasons and responses related to stress。 If you are a novice in biology like me， just remembering the names of the hormones can be challenging sometimes。 But it cites a plethora of actual research on human behavior， disease and stress which is very insightful without having to I came to this book through Robert Sapolsky's lecture series on human behavior（A very fun and informative course available on YouTube Stanford Channel）。 As expected he has talked very much in detail about the physiological reasons and responses related to stress。 If you are a novice in biology like me， just remembering the names of the hormones can be challenging sometimes。 But it cites a plethora of actual research on human behavior， disease and stress which is very insightful without having to understand the biology。 Stress is such a household thing in today's world， that the research findings and people involved feel very familiar to events and people in our own day to day lives。Coming to the content of the book ， Sapolsky has explained how stress affects health of each of our body parts/functions。 It is often not as clear as we want things to be and sometimes it feels research is biased towards the hypothesis of the researchers。 But there are a lot of things which are unquestionable such as impact of stress on our heart， immune system， stomach and our mind。 Then comes the part of ways to deal with stress and common coping mechanism across the primates。 His experience living in the wild with baboons offers a lot of good insights in understanding our primary instincts。A significant portion of the book is devoted to understanding major depression which is the best take away from the book。 Very wonderfully written book。 。。。more

Salvatore Genuensis ，

A must-read for everyone to get a better understanding of the physiological and psychological consequences of stress。 I enjoyed this book。

Andrew ，

I really enjoyed Sapolsky's style and tone throughout the book。 I like how he made some of the revisions from previous editions clear and noted progress in the field。 He does acknowledge the shortcomings or reality of advice that boils down to "just be happier" or "have rich parents" which feels realistic and reasonable。But， there were sections that dragged， points belabored without much payoff for the elaboration。 Yes， it is good that there was a ton of research done for all the topics covered， I really enjoyed Sapolsky's style and tone throughout the book。 I like how he made some of the revisions from previous editions clear and noted progress in the field。 He does acknowledge the shortcomings or reality of advice that boils down to "just be happier" or "have rich parents" which feels realistic and reasonable。But， there were sections that dragged， points belabored without much payoff for the elaboration。 Yes， it is good that there was a ton of research done for all the topics covered， but after a while it feels more like it's bogging the reader down rather than increasing credibility or furthering the author's case。 。。。more

Socrate ，

„În medicină s-a produs o revoluție a modului de înțelegere a bolilor care ne afectează în prezent。 Ea presupune recunoașterea interacțiunilor dintre corp și minte， a modalităților în care emoțiile și personalitatea pot avea un impact colosal asupra funcționalității și a sănătății de care se bucură practic fiecare celulă din organism。 Revoluția se referă la rolul stresului în a-i face pe unii dintre noi mai vulnerabili față de boli， la modalitățile în care unii dintre noi fac față factorilor str „În medicină s-a produs o revoluție a modului de înțelegere a bolilor care ne afectează în prezent。 Ea presupune recunoașterea interacțiunilor dintre corp și minte， a modalităților în care emoțiile și personalitatea pot avea un impact colosal asupra funcționalității și a sănătății de care se bucură practic fiecare celulă din organism。 Revoluția se referă la rolul stresului în a-i face pe unii dintre noi mai vulnerabili față de boli， la modalitățile în care unii dintre noi fac față factorilor stresanți și la ideea esențială că nu se poate înțelege o boală în mod izolat， ci numai în contextul persoanei care suferă de boala respectivă。” 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0